The dividend will be payable on July 3 to shareholders of record on June 4.
'Over the past five years, we have increased our dividends fivefold and repurchased close to $1.25 billion in common stock,' chairman and CEO Richard Fain said. 'We are very pleased to be in a position to improve returns for our shareholders, which remains one of our top priorities.'
Buyback should help offset fuel, stronger dollar
The share buyback should help offset the impact of rising fuel prices and a stronger dollar, William Blair said in a note.
RCL shares have declined nearly 15% over the past month as fuel costs climbed, with bunker up about 4% since late April, putting the stock at just 12 times the brokerage's 2018 earnings per share estimate of $8.80.
'As is evident by today’s announcement, Royal has more than one arrow in its quiver to help insulate EPS against rising fuel prices, while the company is about 50% hedged on its fuel for both 2018 and 2019,' William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia said. 'We continue to like Royal’s shares on healthy momentum in the business, and believe new hardware, ship upgrades and technological innovation should bolster top-line trends in 2019 and beyond.'
RCL closed at $105.17, up $1.10, on Wednesday.
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